Driver charged in 2010 fatal crash on Route 33

A New Jersey tractor-trailer driver has been charged with vehicular homicide and other charges in a 2010 fatal crash in Hamilton Township.

ANDREW SCOTT

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the driver charged was not the same one who served time for driving under the influence in a prior case. The Jaswinder Singh in this case and the Jaswinder Singh who did time in Utah were born the same month in the same year, but are two different men.

A New Jersey tractor-trailer driver has been charged with vehicular homicide and other charges in a 2010 fatal crash in Hamilton Township.

Jaswinder Singh, 30, of Parlin, N.J., is charged in the July 5, 2010, death of Paul Miller, 21, of Scranton, on Route 33.

Singh has been released on unsecured bail and will appear in district court at a future date. The investigation took as long as it did likely because of the length of time it took state police to complete the crash reconstruction report, according to Janet Gable of the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

Miller's mother, Eileen Miller, filed a lawsuit in February in federal court in Scranton against Singh and his former employer. A settlement conference in the lawsuit was scheduled for today in court.

"There is still a long way to go," Eileen Miller said about her 23-month wait to have Singh charged. "It's not over yet. Who knows how long it will still take? None of it brings me to the point that I want, which is to have my son back. Hopefully, this will bring us some kind of peace.

"I'm hoping that this reminds people to pay attention to the road," she said as a mom who is active in the Safe80 Task Force in Monroe County. "People don't realize, when someone gets killed on the roads, the aftermath on the family affected. We just want the right thing to be done."

Police give the following account:

The 7:55 a.m. crash happened in a work zone at mile-marker 20.7 on Route 33 North.

Singh's tractor-trailer had been heading south when it jackknifed, skidded across both southbound lanes and then across the grassy median into the northbound lanes, where he hit the 2002 Toyota Corolla driven by Miller. The two vehicles continued to skid off the right shoulder of the northbound lane and then up an embankment.

A third vehicle, a 1999 Dodge Ram van that had been northbound behind the Toyota, hit the trailer's center. Miller was ejected and lay dead alongside his driver-side door.

Singh told police he had been heading south at 55 mph, going to Easton after making a delivery to the Best Buy in Stroud Township. He said his tractor-trailer veered off the road onto the shoulder and that he tried bringing it back onto the road, at which point it jackknifed and he lost control.

He said a cloud of dirt blocked his view as he entered the northbound lanes. He said he exited through his passenger-side door after the crash and tried to help the people in the van.

He was looking for his cellphone when he saw a car crushed into the front of his tractor. He said he walked over to the car and saw the driver lying on the ground alongside the car, not moving or responding.

James E. Brill, a witness, told police he had been southbound behind the tractor-trailer, which he estimated to be traveling between 55 mph and 65 mph. Brill said the tractor-trailer swerved in and out of the right lane several times in four miles.

Brill said he went into the left lane, passed the tractor-trailer and then returned to the right lane, at which point the tractor-trailer sped up behind him, passed him in the left lane and got back in front of him in the right lane. He said it traveled in the right lane for another mile, veered onto the right shoulder, fishtailed and then jackknifed.

Police later inspected the tractor-trailer and found no defects that would have contributed to the crash. An on-board computer showed the tractor-trailer had been doing 68 mph in a 45-mph zone three seconds before the crash.

It is unknown whether Singh was tested at the scene for drugs or alcohol in his system.